Joel's First 8 Weeks

Well, my goodness... the first 8 weeks of Joel's life have just flown by! Where do I start?... It has been an absolute joy and pleasure so far being a dad to little Joel, although life has changed completely and I'm getting used to the lack of sleep.

Everything went brilliantly on the day of birth. Ang was booked in for a cesarean because little Joel was in breech position (the wrong way round) and we turned up to the hospital just after 7 in the morning knowing that it would only be a few hours before our lives would change for ever! We were taken up to the operating theatre where I got changed into funny looking theatre clothes complete with a pink hat. The operation went very quickly, it almost felt like we were at the dentists, except that instead of pulling out a tooth they yanked a little baby out... a boy ... little Joel!! The surgeon pulled him out, all wrinkly, and shoved him in our faces... "you have a boy" - how very exciting!

The first few hours of his life Joel became an expert at breast feeding and quickly learnt how to fall asleep. We were very lucky to be assigned our own private room in the ward which meant we could get to know Joel in privacy, as well as have lots of friends and family come to visit. Ang recovered well from her operation and after a couple of days we were heading home (driving VERY slowly) ready to introduce Joel to were we live and Toby and Josh, our cats.

Since those first few days we have got to know little Joel very well - even learning what each of his different cries means! In the past week, Joel has perfected his smile and has now added very cute noises to his repertoire. It is even more of a joy to spend time with him now that he shows how happy he is to be played with. Very special. Ang is also doing well and is loving the time at home with Joel.

Click on the pics below to many more photos from Joel's first 8 weeks.

Joel Robert Wood - Week 1

Joel at 8 days

Joel at 22 days

Joel at 32 days old